Years ago, Jamie and I were doing the communications for Kechara under Kechara Media & Publications. Then as our resources were stretched too thin, that role was quietly shelved. However, I had always thought that communications is a vital area in any organisation, be it secular or spiritual, and had reiterated over the years that we need this department badly. Kechara has grown exponentially since 2005, with departments producing a smorgasbord of books, films, flowers, statues, pendants, pilgrimages, shops, art, documentaries, community services, vegetarian cuisine etc. With this growth, Kechara's need for a communications centre to ensure messages are consistent and unified has become more and more urgent.
Finally, a few weeks ago, when H.E. Tsem Rinpoche mentioned to a few of his students about the need to improve our social media presence, I thought that it would be a great opportunity to set up a communications centre for Kechara to address the wider needs of the organisation. I had worked in coordinating an international public relations campaign when I was with the Malaysian Timber Council in UK a lifetime ago, and I also had the great opportunity of being part of the Communications Team of the then National Economic Council (NEAC) in the Prime Minister's Department when the Asian Economic Crisis hit in the late '90s. However, it was a whole new ball game to set up a department from scratch. I had been in communications teams but I had no idea about actually running one.
So I asked a friend who was heading a communications team to help me with a communications plans for Kechara. She said yes. Then i invited her to come and visit us and gave her a tour of our organisation. I also gave her some of Rinpoche's books. She stayed up til 5am the next morning reading. A few days later, after a couple more discussions, I asked her if she would like to join me and she accepted! Funnily enough, she told me that if I had asked her a couple of weeks before I did, she was so busy that she would have sent me a draft comms plan and asked me to amend it for my purposes. But the timing as it turned out to be, was perfect. Unbeknown to me, she had just finished her contract and she was looking for something meaningful. And she thought Kechara would fulfil this. Amazing. Coinicidence? I don't think so. I strongly believe she was sent by our Dharma Protector, Lord Setrap! With her joining me, I felt more confident to take this on. However, it was still pretty much something something new.
As I was about to take a great leap into the unknown, H.E. Tsem Rinpoche wrote a blog post about this very topic, The Unknown, in which Rinpoche talked about the purpose of Dharma work and how we should not be afraid of the unknown but instead embrace it and go all the way, because we are 100% sure of the benefits.
At the end of that blog post, Rinpoche composed the following poem for his student, Wei Theng.
The Unknown
The Known and unknown are both feared,
Known is being comfortable and stagnant,
The unknown may be growth and opportunities,
One shall never know if one fears the unknown
more than the known.
Who says the unknown would be worse than
the known? But then again, the unknown is sometimes
worse than the known.
In the end nothing is known unless we endeavour,
So go pursue all the way with the unknown, because all
unknown with familiarity becomes the known.
~Tsem Rinpoche
With this beautiful poem in mind, I decided to let go of my fears of what I did not know and just go for it. It is my privilege and honour to find suitable platforms for Rinpoche to connect with as many people as possible. It is pure selfishness if I do not share this treasury of pure gold with the world. If I do not give the world the opportunities to hear his words of wisdom and have their lives changed for the better, just as mine has. If I do not allow people the merits to support Rinpoche's work.
So I've been working like mad over the past couple of weeks to set up a communications framework, assemble my team with the necessary skillset, raise funds - thank you to several supportive people, namely Datuk May Phng, the President of Kechara House, head of KWPC exco and head of the Liaisons Council, and Chuah Su Ming, head liaison of Tsem Ladrang, and Phng Li Kim, CEO and Liaison of KMP. Should anyone wish to contribute in any way or form - as volunteers, full-time staff or sponsorship, please contact me directly!
Then last Wednesday, I received Rinpoche's blessings for this new division. It's a large task ahead but I know I will do whatever it takes to make sure it is successful. Because the goal will benefit so many people. Watch this space!
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